Germany: Ex-footballer slams UEFA over LGBTQ 'hypocrisy'
June 27, 2021
LGBTQ campaigner and former East German youth soccer player Marcus Urban called UEFA hypocritical during an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Sunday.
The gay ex-footballer said he had been "shocked" by the European soccer governing body's decision to forbid Munich from lighting up its stadium in rainbow colors last Wednesday. Munich authorities wanted to express support to LGBTQ people during Germany's Euro 2020 match against Hungary, where activists say LGBTQ groups are under threat .
The 50-year-old Urban is a spokesperson for the lobby group Gay Players Unite and a managing director for the Association for Diversity in Sport and Society.
"The fact that UEFA rejects the application from Munich and at the same time dips its logo in rainbow colors on its own Twitter channel on the day of the match between Germany and Hungary can hardly be surpassed in terms of hypocrisy for me," Urban said in the interview.
"Personally, I find something like that shameful," he added.
UEFA rejects 'political' request
Hungary recently introduced a law restricting the access of young people to information about homosexuality and transgender issues.
This prompted Munich authorities to suggest lightning the Allianz Arena in the colors of the rainbow flag, but UEFA rejected the action due to its "political context." Other stadiums around Germany lit up in Pride colors nevertheless.
Regarding the decision, Urban said he "had secretly hoped that we as a society were already much further ahead."
Urban also said UEFA was hypocritical for saying that it supports equal rights for everyone and using LGBTQ colors in its advertising.
Meanwhile, UEFA welcomed the moves by some sponsors to display the colors of the rainbow flag on their advertising inside various stadiums. Rather than being political, the soccer association said advertisers were free "to convey a message of tolerance and equality."
ab/dj (dpa, SID)